“Snow White”, “Red Riding Hood”, “Cinderella”, “Hansel and Gretel”… does it ring a bell? I knew it! They entertained you as a kid so often, how could you forget! These stories are likely ingrained deeply in your brain, more efficiently than mayonnaise drenched chicken salad. But it was during childhood. Sadly, fairy tales are a pleasure of the past for grown ups…

WHAT! Of course not! Hope you didn’t take it seriously. These timeless stories have been told and retold and will be told again in the future. Revisit your childhood heroes with these Fairy tales retold for Young Adults. Good times, new perspectives and nostalgia guaranteed.

It’s hard to predict the future. Who knows a book is going to be a really good read before it’s published? Harry Potter’s popularity was a real surprise, after all! People try to guess it anyway – which leads to my discovery of the “Most Anticipated Young Adult books of 2017” lists of Paste and Brightly websites. First, I looked which ones we have here at the Belleville Public Library. Then, I looked the ratings on Goodreads. I’m aware its a bit late for these most anticipated books of 2017, therefore a lot of them are already out and rated by readers. The point is: I kept only books rated more than 3.5. That’s how I got this list of excellent fairly new books for you!

From the library to you, people of 12 to 18 years! A way of having more fun. A way of being less bored. Challenges to take. And the best part: rewards along the way. We offer the Teens Summer Reading Challenge to you!

**Round of applause**

It’s actually reallllly simple. Visit the library between June 17 and August 17 to sign up. From the following day, tell us about what you are reading to get a ballot for our prize basket.

You’ll get a flyer with special challenges. Complete them and tell us about it. When you complete 5 challenges, you get to play Plinko for a chance to win instant prizes. Plinko can be played once a week only.

If you are often disappointed in the movies you have watched after reading the book , go the other way around. Reading the book after watching the movie is good too. It’s up to you. Whatever your decision, be aware that every movie ever made has been written first, at least as a script, and a vast amount of those scripts are inspired by books. So, if you like movies, you also like books. It’s logical right? Then, read one of those marvelous books already adapted into a movie or that will get a shot on the big screen soon.

A Belleville Public Library card grants you access to a vast selection of e-resources. You can access them from our website, here. Let me introduce you to some of them.

is a never endless source of factual information about a lot of subjects, from science to plants and history to sport. I like the “World Resources” interactive maps which offers the possibility to compare continents, provinces or cities over different factors.

World book also offers an awesome guide on research projects that is totally worth reading. Tons of helpful advice for each step, from choosing a subject to presentation. It will help you evaluate the reliability of your sources and organize your data efficiently.

is the most comprehensive and authoritative source of information on all things Canadian. Well displayed and easy to understand. Lots of good material for homework in there!

I’m a big fan of CPI.Q. It is a huge database of journals, newspapers and magazines articles. With it, you don’t have to find and browse through piles of magazines to find articles on the subject you need. Articles are often valid references for research projects so it is worth a look. You may need a bit of research skills to get what you’re seeking from this one though.

has a great library of eBooks, movies, comic books, music and TV shows. Bonus: as long as you have a library account, you have access to all of those resources without stepping out of the comfort of your house.

have way more eBooks and audiobooks than Hoopla. They also offer material in different languages: English, French, Spanish, Chinese, etc. There is no music in that database though.

Hope you’re thrilled now! Remember that you need a library card number to use those services. Your mom or dad or sister or turtle won’t give you their card number? 😦 Well, it’s still just one trip here to get a card and after that, rain or shine, PJ’s on and slippers, you may have access to FREE great books, FREE movies, FREE magazine articles, FREE good music, FREE factual information, FREE… Well I guess you get the point now.

Try to guess who is our weekly featured detective to win an awesome basket! The contest runs through May 1st to 31st, with a new character every week. We have a bulletin board just for teens, in front of the Reader’s advisory desk, with four clues to help you find out who is our mysterious character. You could also fill an electronic ballot on the library website, here.

We will also have a Mystery night on May 17th for ages 14 and up. Come and try to figure out which suspect stole the painting! You could win 2 tickets for a fun Escape Room experience at Breakout Belleville!

You can also get ballots by checking out Mystery books. There is reading suggestions here.

It takes a lot of shelves for Patterson’s books in a library. He’s writing faster than his shadow! Patterson knows how to get your attention and hook you into his stories. That’s how you get so many faithful readers waiting for your next release, I guess. Sorry I’m rambling. What you really need to know is: James Patterson writes fantastic series for teens:

You may even find these titles on Overdrive and Hoopla, as books and/or audiobooks. You don’t even have to get out of your comfy bed to get them! Awesome, isn’t it?